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Kneading Conference West 2012 - Day 3

Kneading Conference West 2012 - Day 3

Day 3 - The last day of the Conference - as I arrived, was happy to be greeted by dew-kissed apples in the orchard,

and another beautiful, sunny breakfast :^)

There were also fresh, wood-fired bagels – my goodness, we were spoiled with all of the fresh, lovely food we were presented with!:

***

The morning passed quickly, being very absorbed in Scott Mangold’s class, “Test Baking with Local Wheats for Home and Bakery”. Scott is a very good teacher and gave very practical advice on the testing process, and conveyed his considerable level of skill and experience as he assessed locally-grown wheats, whose properties could be unknown or vary from season to season.

Assessing rise and spread of doughs made with two different local, whole-wheat flours:

The baked breads: I got to taste two of them – both were good, and but my favorite was the bread made with Red Russian wheat - I sure do hope I come across that variety of wheat someday, for baking ; its flavor was exquisite :^)

After the morning class, one last walk along the colorful path from the Sakuma Auditorium; so many pretty flowers :^)

***

We were treated to another great meal, a lasagna lunch (yummy and from Patty Pan catering), before saying our good-byes or departing for tours that had been scheduled for the afternoon.

This year’s Kneading Conference West was, just like last year, great fun and a fantastic opportunity to get together with so many other generous people, interested in bread and grains, and willing to share their knowledge and experience; I sincerely hope this Conference continues as an annual event at WSU. Many thanks to the hard-working organizers, instructors/presenters, volunteers and caterers for making it such an educational and enjoyable event to attend!

Hi Andy, thanks very much :^)I've had the privilege of attending two years in a row, and hope I'll be able to go next year, as well - the activities and seminars are sure to be just as inspiring, thought-provoking, and educational as what we've experienced so far!:^) breadsong

a great time was had by all. Great atmosphere and environment, food, bread, weather and treats, as well as, great instruction from fine presenters. What is not to like? Thanks for writing this up so well too!. I feel like I was actually there, and might be next year......

Hi dabrownman, and thank you! -It would be fantastic if you could attend next year - hope to be there myself - it really was a wonderful gathering of people and look forward to meeting you at the next one should we both be there.:^) breadsong

Thank you, breadsong, for putting together such a great write-up. It is always a treat to read posts from you and the other generous bakers who attend this wonderful event and take the time to share it with the rest of us.

Hi Marcus,It was such a pleasure to write this post, going through my photos and notes and thinking about all of the good things going on and experienced at this event. I am so glad you enjoyed reading about it.:^) breadsong

Hello, breadsong, thank you for the hard work you put into recreating these three days. The pictures are lovely and do justice both to the setting, to the food and to the learning that was there for the taking. There were choices to be made and we didn't get to experience all the workshops we would have liked to attend, so it is very helpful to get the write-up and photos, even for someone who was at the conference.. I am especially grateful for your summary of the Professional class which I didn't get to attend... That was a lot to take in and you did a wonderful job! Thank you also for linking back to Farine!

Hi MC,Thank you for your kind words! The photos were easy to take, being in such a lovely setting :^)It means a lot to me that you liked these posts. I admire your writing and photography so much, and your beautiful posts about this event conveyed so well what it was like to be there - more wonderful memories, preserved!:^) breadsong

Hi Khalid,I think this September will go down in the record books for me, for the warm, late summer we have experienced...We couldn't have asked for any better, weather- or otherwise - everything was first class.:^) breadsong

Wish I could have been there but with these posts of yours at least I know what I missed out on. Gives me lots of incentive to attend next years conference. Thanks for taking the time to post this series and sharing your experiences with us.

Hi Phil,Thanks so much :^)I hope there's an event like this, near where you are - or if not, that you have the opportunity to meet and network with other bakers, millers, and farmers. With your considerable baking skill, knowledge of milling, wheat farmers in the family, too - just think of all you'd have to talk about!:^) breadsong

Hi Ray,Thank you!, and glad the post and pictures brought happiness, as being able to attend did for me :^)

Speaking of 'almost being there feeling', there is video posted online for seminars I didn't go to, that was really good to see - courtesy of Teresa, of Northwest Sourdough (so grateful to Teresa for capturing this video and sharing it!).You might like the videos, too - here is a link to the channel:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRHQGl_rjm8

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